The provincial Minister of Education, Gord Wyant, was in Weyburn Friday and took the time to meet with the Southeast Cornerstone Teachers Association. He heard from the representatives from the association about the challenge’s they are facing, and concerns they have.

“We asked him many questions about funding, and emphasized that predictable and sustainable is what is truly needed to meet the students,” explained Karen Kennedy-Allin, the president of the SECTA.

In her third year as the association’s president, Kennedy-Allin pointed out there is a lot of work needed in terms of bringing funding back to levels where it was even just three years ago. While enrollment is up since 2016, funding for the education system is still below what it was before 2016.

Kennedy-Allin explained Wyant said he was listening to the concerns of the association and was taking notes about the meeting. She added, despite the reassurances, there was still some disappointment from the meeting.

“The disappointing thing was, though, that no real commitments were made in terms of addressing the challenges facing education today,” she told Discover Weyburn.

Some of the challenges the teachers pointed out they would like to see addressed include the diversity in the classroom, with fewer resources. The budget rollbacks haven't’ helped to deal with the needs of the modern classroom.

Kennedy-Allin added the biggest thing she hears from teachers is how heartbreaking it is for teachers to see students with needs that can’t be met.

She remained positive about the meeting, pointing out the minister said he would take the concerns he heard in Weyburn Friday, back to Cabinet for discussion leading into the budget next year.

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